We are living in the beginnings of a new Dark Age. Our institutions and ideas are failing. Our economies are being dragged under by debt. The cracks in civilization are beginning to appear. This is not playing to fears, but addressing facts. Now is the time not only to prepare ourselves personally, but also to begin the process of storing the knowledge of our world so that it will survive the coming collapse.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Medicine

Ranked second in importance only to food, is medical care. The level of medical care, post-collapse, is going to be a giant step backwards from what is currently available to people in modern civilization. Given that around fourteen percent of the American economy, for example, is dedicated to medicine, it's clear that as the economy crashes, the quality and availability of medical care is going to decline over time as well.

Medicine itself, from the standpoint of long-term survival is itself problematic. As people who are living at the current peak of human progress, we expect that our doctors are going to be rigorously screened and trained and have all the latest tools and technologies at their fingertips. Moving forward, this is not always going to be the case. At the same time, I think most people would agree that treatment will likely be attempted, in spite of the lack of our modern resources and that it would be better to try to preserve our medical knowledge rather than letting people try to rediscover it on their own (no one wants to think about the possibility of "bleeding" coming back into vogue...). At the same time, I would not anyone to try medical treatment on their own if trained professionals and resources are available.

Prevention, rather than invasive treatment, seems likely to become the rule in the future. The Romans, for example, were relatively healthy due to their lifestyle. Of course, once a chronic condition or serious disease was contracted, they were in trouble. However, with good sanitation and a working knowledge of infectious diseases, etc, I think a lot can be done to mitigate mortality, especially infantry mortality.

As with all other categories of knowledge and skill, I strongly encourage readers to comment on the topics chosen, as well as any other information which is relevant. As we begin to move forward to actually recording information for storage in the Codex Universalis, I also encourage people to volunteer to help with writing on some of these topics and chapters.